Agenda
Posterboard 
Month 
Week 
Day May – June 2013
North Pond Bird Walks
Leader: Geoff Williamson
Regular Wednesday a.m. weekly walks (monthly during mid-summer and mid-winter) catch the waves of bird migration that Chicago experiences along its lakefront. Begins at 7AM and goes til 9AM, but participants may choose to leave earlier, of course.
See Geoff’s website for more information and some wonderful photos and posts from the North Pond walks.
Directions: North Pond is next to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, on the north side of Fullerton Ave. (between Cannon and Stockton) just west of Lake Shore Drive. Parking is typically available on northbound or southbound Cannon Drive. The group meets behind the Nature Museum, at the southeast end of North Pond. Look for us on or near the casting pier (which is just north of the wooden bridge at the southeast end of the pond).
Dates for 2013:
January: 16
February: 13
March: 13, 20, 27
April: 3, 10, 17, 24
May: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
June: 5, 12
July: 17
August: 14, 21, 28
September: 4, 11, 18, 25
October: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November: 6, 13
December: 18
Kirtland’s Warbler Michigan trip
Led by Sam Burckhardt rawsbb@mac.com
This trip is limited to 15 people. Registration with the trip leader required at a first come basis (registration will close at the latest on April 30).
Friday evening, May 24, meet at the Ramada Inn in Grayling, MI, on. The trip to Grayling from Chicago is approximately 335 miles; by car it will take approximately 6.5 hours (with the time change). Car pooling is encouraged. I reserved a block of rooms under the name of the Chicago Ornithological Society; however, you still have to make your own reservation.
North Pond Bird Walks
Leader: Geoff Williamson
Regular Wednesday a.m. weekly walks (monthly during mid-summer and mid-winter) catch the waves of bird migration that Chicago experiences along its lakefront. Begins at 7AM and goes til 9AM, but participants may choose to leave earlier, of course.
See Geoff’s website for more information and some wonderful photos and posts from the North Pond walks.
Directions: North Pond is next to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, on the north side of Fullerton Ave. (between Cannon and Stockton) just west of Lake Shore Drive. Parking is typically available on northbound or southbound Cannon Drive. The group meets behind the Nature Museum, at the southeast end of North Pond. Look for us on or near the casting pier (which is just north of the wooden bridge at the southeast end of the pond).
Dates for 2013:
January: 16
February: 13
March: 13, 20, 27
April: 3, 10, 17, 24
May: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
June: 5, 12
July: 17
August: 14, 21, 28
September: 4, 11, 18, 25
October: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November: 6, 13
December: 18
Bird and Canoe/Kayak the Skokie Lagoons
Sunday June 2, 2013 – 7:00 a.m.
Leader: Sigrid Schmidt – sigschmidt@gmail.com
Ryan Chew of Chicago River Canoe & Kayak will guide us as we explore the Skokie Lagoons from the water. We will look for late migrants and summer nesters, and we may find cliff swallow nests and possibly a great blue heron rookery (if they are back this year). Meet Ryan at his shed and launch site on the south side of Tower Road just west of Forest Way at 7:00 a.m. A picture of their shed is on the web site below. The shed is easily visible from the roads. We will start our paddle as soon as everyone gets outfitted. Expect the paddle to last about 2 hours. Both canoes and kayaks are available. The cost is $15 per person to cover the canoe/kayak rental fee. Please bring cash. Register with Sigrid in advance. Please include the number in your party, a cell phone number and specify whether you want to kayak or canoe.
Chicago River Canoe & Kayak
www.chicagoriverpaddle.com
North Pond Bird Walks
Leader: Geoff Williamson
Regular Wednesday a.m. weekly walks (monthly during mid-summer and mid-winter) catch the waves of bird migration that Chicago experiences along its lakefront. Begins at 7AM and goes til 9AM, but participants may choose to leave earlier, of course.
See Geoff’s website for more information and some wonderful photos and posts from the North Pond walks.
Directions: North Pond is next to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, on the north side of Fullerton Ave. (between Cannon and Stockton) just west of Lake Shore Drive. Parking is typically available on northbound or southbound Cannon Drive. The group meets behind the Nature Museum, at the southeast end of North Pond. Look for us on or near the casting pier (which is just north of the wooden bridge at the southeast end of the pond).
Dates for 2013:
January: 16
February: 13
March: 13, 20, 27
April: 3, 10, 17, 24
May: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
June: 5, 12
July: 17
August: 14, 21, 28
September: 4, 11, 18, 25
October: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November: 6, 13
December: 18
North Pond Bird Walks
Leader: Geoff Williamson
Regular Wednesday a.m. weekly walks (monthly during mid-summer and mid-winter) catch the waves of bird migration that Chicago experiences along its lakefront. Begins at 7AM and goes til 9AM, but participants may choose to leave earlier, of course.
See Geoff’s website for more information and some wonderful photos and posts from the North Pond walks.
Directions: North Pond is next to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, on the north side of Fullerton Ave. (between Cannon and Stockton) just west of Lake Shore Drive. Parking is typically available on northbound or southbound Cannon Drive. The group meets behind the Nature Museum, at the southeast end of North Pond. Look for us on or near the casting pier (which is just north of the wooden bridge at the southeast end of the pond).
Dates for 2013:
January: 16
February: 13
March: 13, 20, 27
April: 3, 10, 17, 24
May: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
June: 5, 12
July: 17
August: 14, 21, 28
September: 4, 11, 18, 25
October: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November: 6, 13
December: 18
June 15 – LaBagh Woods 7:00 – 10:00 a.m
LaBagh Woods is a Cook County Forest Preserve District property that is bisected by the North Branch of the Chicago River. The heavily wooded riverbanks and hilly terrain make it a perfect stopover for late migrating birds, especially gorgeous spring warblers. Mid May is the peak of bird migration and LaBagh Woods is a true migration hot spot.
Meet in the LaBagh Woods parking lot off Foster Avenue, between Pulaski and the Edens Expressway at 7:00 a.m. Look for people with binoculars in the parking lot. Parking is free and you should be able to find a place to lock up a bike.
For more information, please contact Christine Williamson at birdchris@aol.com or if you need directions or help on the day of the trip, call Christine’s cell phone at 773/415-5217.
Who may attend: Singles; groups of friends; families; alumni, corporate and church groups; nature lovers; birdwatchers and everyone else are welcome at these events. Chicago Park Nature Tours are good activities for well-behaved kids aged eight and above who are interested in nature and accompanied by an attentive adult.
What to bring and wear: Binoculars are essential if you want to watch birds, butterflies and wildlife (there are a few pairs available to borrow); dress for the weather; wear sunscreen, a hat and sturdy boots or shoes; bring insect repellent; and carry water to drink.
What not to bring: Dogs.
Meet at West side of Burnham Ave and East Sauk Trail: Map
Leaders: Shawn Pfautsch and Sam Burckhardt
Plum Creek Forest Preserve in Southern Cook County offers a number of good habitats, from forest to open prairie. Some of the target birds will be Acadian and other Flycatchers, White-eyed and other Vireos, Blue-winged Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrows, Dickcissel and Bobolinks.
Bring binoculars, water, sunscreen and a hat, rain gear, if necessary, as well as appropriate shoes.
Leader: Sam Burckhardt
Location: Humboldt Park
Meeting place: Humboldt Park Library, 1605 N. Troy St.
Date: Saturday, June 22, 2013
Time: 9:30 AM (ending approximately at 11:30 AM)
Equipment: Bring binoculars and a field guide, if you have one. Some binoculars will be available for children to check out at the library.
Dress for the weather
This program is for beginners who are interested in learning more about birds and how to identify them. We will concentrate on finding and discovering birds in the outdoors. We will use Humboldt Park for our program and will take advantage of its many different habitats, from stands of trees, prairie grasses, open spaces, to a small river and a lagoon. We will talk about ways of making sense of what we will discover. Most people can easily tell a duck from a sparrow, but what to make of a coot which looks like a duck but isn’t one? We will talk about the different topographical features of birds, such as the bill, the legs, the feathers, and the overall shape to help us in identifying them to family, genus, or species.
